Brussels, 28/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - Migration and development are interdependent issues. EU ministers in charge of development reiterated this fact in Brussels on Tuesday 26 May but this time they urged the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to work on concrete measures to flesh out the recommendations they made in December.
In December, the General Affairs Council, meeting in its Development format, called for a coordinated approach to refugees and internally displaced persons and called on the Commission to present guidelines on how to integrate and reinforce the migration dimension in political dialogue with the partner countries and regions and in the programming of European aid (see EUROPE 11218).
During the debate, the ministers laid emphasis on the positive effects of migration on the partner developing countries. The role of remittances sent back by migrants to their home country, accounting for twice the amount of public development aid, are among these beneficial effects, as are the commitment, experience and level of training of the diaspora.
All of the ministers stressed that humanitarian aid, such as that provided to the Syrians, has an important role to play in guaranteeing the dignity of individuals. They acknowledged that, by tackling political, economic and social instability, development cooperation can help to ensure that migration is a choice, rather than a necessity. However, a significant number of ministers stressed that development aid alone cannot resolve everything.
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini concluded by encouraging the member states to take measures to implement the conclusions adopted by the Council in December, which call for a reinforcement of dialogue with the partner countries and regions (Rabat and Khartoum process). The EU-Africa summit on migration, which will be held in Malta this summer, will be of decisive importance in moving the discussions forward (see EUROPE 11218). (Aminata Niang)